Can hyaluronic acid injections be removed? Are these types of injections legal for...

Q:

Can hyaluronic acid injections be removed? Are these types of injections legal for buttock enhancement?

A:

In some cases very superficial injections of hyaluronic acid may be removed by making a small opening in the skin and expressing the material. If the injection was placed deeper into the usual tissue level, then injection of a material called hyaluronidase may cause the filler to dissolve and probably works best in the first week or so after the hyaluronic acid was placed. At this time, I believe that injection of hyaluronic acid for buttock enhancement would be considered an "off label" use, as the material is generally used in the face for wrinkle treatment and loss of tissue volume. Considering the volume of hyaluronic acid that would be required for any buttock enhancement, it would likely be very expensive to use fillers for this purpose.